New Hansons Marathon Method Book

I bought it and have read it pretty much cover to cover by now.

The method hasn't changed, but they expand on the information given (obvs a 250 page book is going to have more information in it than a 5 page article). Most valuable to me was the prescriptions for speed/strength/tempo days were much more detailed (in the article, it's basically "do speed work at 5k pace this day", whereas the book tells you exactly what to do).

There's a good bit on strength training, stretching and in-race nutrition/hydration. In fact he is extremely precise with nutrition/hydration.

Also has advice on how to modify the program if you need to (missed days, etc).

Pace charts.

There are some other chapters but those are the big things that you get with the book that you don't get with the article.

Basic takeaway that I had was that there was nothing revolutionary in here (I had read pretty much all the big training books before and had trained with the hansons plan before), but it's nice to have a complete system in one place. And I'm glad I bought it because I've certainly got $12 worth of value out of their plan, so it's nice to throw them a bone.

I do wish it was available on Kindle, though.

Does it give just info on marathon training? Would I find good amount of info on training for a half-marathon?

No, it covers the marathon only.

The primary reasoning behind the need for this program is that casual runners wear themselves out too much on 20+ milers. It's pitch is to be a counterpoint to the 40-55 mpw marathon programs with uber long runs.

So since the problem it's trying to solve is specific to the marathon, the training program is specific to the marathon.

I think there may be a half marathon program on their site.

Any use for the runner who's running well over 40-55 mpw, but is also not capable of doing a "real" Hansons program? Like does it explain the logic behind everything so that you can make up your own training that's appropriate for you, or is it basically just stock programs for low mileage runners who are used to doing disproportionate long runs?

In between wrote:

Any use for the runner who's running well over 40-55 mpw, but is also not capable of doing a "real" Hansons program? Like does it explain the logic behind everything so that you can make up your own training that's appropriate for you, or is it basically just stock programs for low mileage runners who are used to doing disproportionate long runs?

I bought the book and have only skimmed it so far. But this is what I was most disapointed in. Just like the other plans available the mileage is very low. With the advanced plan peaking at 63 miles (average would be less). I was hoping for a high mileage plan and something a bit more in line with what they have some of their athletes use. Obviously they might not want to give all their info away. They do have a few pages on adding additional mileage that I haven't gone all the way through yet. Maybe this will help.

The other poster seems to have gone through it all in more detail, so he/she might be able to add more to this.

I have read the book from front to back. It is a well-written, well-developed extension of the basic plan as outlined in both Runner's World and Running Times. Like Daniels, Luke takes the time to explain the physiological reasoning behind the plan, prescribes proper training paces for easy, speed, strength, tempo, and long runs, and offers great nutritional and fueling advice.

There are answers to the commonly asked questions such as how to safely and best add mileage for those looking to run 70-100 mpw or more, how much rest between reps, when it is okay to start including doubles, exactly when in the cycle to use which workouts, when best to race, etc. Luke even includes the actual Hanson team's more advanced hard workouts for those looking to do more, and he includes his personal day-by-day 18 week plan that lead to his 2:14 PR.

I don't think there is much more you can ask for from this book as far as understanding the Hanson philosophy. Whether or not you agree with it is another matter. I think the book should be helpful for runners of all abilities who want to try something different than Daniels, Pfitz, Higdon, etc.

Numbersguy wrote:

I have read the book from front to back. It is a well-written, well-developed extension of the basic plan as outlined in both Runner's World and Running Times.

Are you sure? I bought the other Hansons book by Sage Canaday and thought it was horrible. It was immature and came across as pompus. It is the only book that I have ever owned that I put in the fireplace.

I've read Sage's book, and I've started this one (I'm probably about 75 pages in). This one is very different than Sage's. His was a bit more of a personal narrative and his story, despite the fact that it was kind of billed as a "this is how the Hansons operate" book. This is way more of a training guide, so there's a lot less room for personal thoughts and insights (which is why his came off as immature and pompous). I agree with you that his was pretty bad, but I like this one so far.

I didn't think Sage's book was too bad, I liked the personal stories and inside stuff. Now Goucher's book, that belongs in the fireplace.

How does the Hanson's stuff compare to Pfitzinger's? He gives multiple mileage plans. I'm wondering how these are sized up to his max mileage and if that type of approach could be applied to the Hanson plans.

If it's a matter of miles, can you tack on miles to the easy and long runs or add a few doubles to get the mileage you want without screwing up the rest of their plans? Could you make a tempo or warmup/coldown a little longer or add a few repeats to a an interval or hill workout?

I'm seriously interested in how to increase miles in a plan without messing it up. I've never trained for a marathon so it's totally foreign to my mind.

Redux,I've read the book and adding easy mileage and mileage to warm-ups/cooldowns is exactly how Luke explained how to add mileage. There is a great section on the benefits of substantial amounts of easy running and a discussion of "fast easy" (1 min slower than Marathon goal pace) and slow easy or recovery (2 min slower than Marathon goal pace).

redux wrote:

How does the Hanson's stuff compare to Pfitzinger's? He gives multiple mileage plans. I'm wondering how these are sized up to his max mileage and if that type of approach could be applied to the Hanson plans.

If it's a matter of miles, can you tack on miles to the easy and long runs or add a few doubles to get the mileage you want without screwing up the rest of their plans? Could you make a tempo or warmup/coldown a little longer or add a few repeats to a an interval or hill workout?

I'm seriously interested in how to increase miles in a plan without messing it up. I've never trained for a marathon so it's totally foreign to my mind.

So the workouts (long run included?) would stay the same?

Any information/opinion on why these wouldn't get longer? No benefits from the added stress of longer interval or hill repeats?

From what malmo's said in the past, if all the other pieces of a training plan are in place, the long run is the one run that can be truncated or left out. Do you think the Hanson's plan mimics this idea to some degree considering the emphasis is not on the long run, and event to some extent downplays the importance of a long run?

Joe Rubio also recommends adding on to warm ups and warm downs to get extra mileage. I think he mentioned the great Portuguese runners from the 80's like '84 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Carlos Lopes were known for this.

Bottom line is that they think most casual runners (non-elite, non-college, non-pros) spend too many weekends slogging out 20's and not enough time working at actual marathon pace.

They would rather you do a 16 miler with 8 hard, than casualy trot a 20.

I simply try to point out that the easiest way to add mileage is to first do it by adding easy mileage. After that, you can add to workouts. Most people end up getting hurt when they just throw more workout mileage into a program. Handle the mileage first, then worry about intenesity.

I am surprised I am not getting beat up more about the book. It was something that we were approached about regarding the programs that have been discussed before. I tried to add as much'extra'stuff as I could. There is certainly things I would put in there now, but hey, this is the first book I have ever written. Learning process, right?

I think their elite runners train 80-90-100+ miles a week. They also have programs you can buy specific for higher mileage needs. But this book is obviously geared toward those for whom 60+ miles/week is close to the max.

This would be consistent with what Keith told me several years ago when I was using their program to train for a marathon. He mentioned that if I wanted to add more mileage to the program, then he suggested adding a second run of 4 miles each day to increase the mileage.

I noticed that in Sage's book he has multiple 20 milers leading up to his Boston performance. Is this just a result of his higher mileage and needed to add distance to runs or are they on a different type of program outlined in the new book?

sorry...different program than what is outlined in the new book.